Oh my gee, I've just realized that this update took so long that even I had to reread the previous chapters to remember where I left off! Gosh, I'm really sorry!

I'm struggling to keep both my rotting writing skills in tact because I just couldn't find the right inspiration to write another update. But anyway, thank God, I finally survived writing a decent chapter after everything.

I really hope this makes up for the long time I've been MIA. 

Thank you for your patience, guys! I really appreciate it. Luv luv. <3

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( eight. blurred lines )

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"You think no one's gonna come looking for us here?"

"That's what I'm hoping for. Where's Bucky?"

"Oh, uh, I put him inside and trapped his arm."

"You what?"

"Well, not really crushed his metal arm trap. Just a little bit so he ain't going nowhere once he wakes up."

There was a sigh, then silence.

"What about, Nat?"

"What about her?"

The aftermath of Bucky's sudden outburst caused a lot of problems for them. Specifically speaking, their public image in the eyes of the government. Not only are they seen as a threat but, now, they're also wanted men.

And Steve just can't afford to drag Natasha into the mess they created.

"Well, she did sign the paper so Stark might send out a search and rescue op thing to go fetch her." Sam reminded.

Steve looked at Sam sternly. "We can't just leave her here."

"I'm not saying leave her." Sam reasoned, "but she can't come with us, Steve. Whether she likes it or not, she needs to go back to the compound."

Steve took a deep breath. Apparently, trying to make Bucky remember his former self wasn't just the only difficult thing he had to do today—it was to leave Natasha.

He glanced back at the redhead with a sad look. She was still unconscious from their fall earlier and Steve didn't want to leave her behind with that state so he took her with them. Though he wasn't sure what their next move's going to be, he knows that Natasha couldn't be a part of that.

"I know," he agreed.

Something shifting and a disgruntled sound interrupted their talk. Both shared a look before walking towards the other room, with caution may they add, just in time to see Bucky waking up.

Bucky stirred his head, let out a slight groan, when his eyes dawned on the person before him. There was a pause. His eyes were puzzled as if he saw something familiar but didn't know why it looked to be. He was digging into the back of his mind, juggling his memories to try and get some useful piece to remember who Bucky Barnes is.

Then finally— "Steve," he said.

Steve still looked reluctant. "Which Bucky am I talking to?"

Bucky took a while to answer, as if he was hesitating to say something or not. "Your mom's name was Sarah." When that still didn't seem to convince him, he added with a weak chuckle, the memory humoring him, "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

That convinced him. "Can't read that in a museum." Steve smiled lightly.

Sam looked at him disbelievingly, "Just like that and we're supposed to be cool?"

Bucky gulped, fearing the answer to what he was about to ask. "What did I do?"

"Enough."

He sighed frustratingly, shook his head, "Oh, God. I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there, and all he had to do was to say the goddamn words."

Steve looked at him in worry, "Who was he?"

"I don't know."

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than I don't know." Steve demanded.

Bucky went silent, tried to think deeper. He tried to remember what had happened before his outburst. There were a few vague pictures, certain lapses of memory, but it was enough for him to pick up a few things.

His forehead creased, "He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where."

Steve didn't know where this was heading. "Why would he need to know that?"

Bucky's face dimmed. "Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

——————————————————————————————

The first thing that Natasha felt was her back aching. God, she hated it when her body aches because she felt like she was aging so rapidly, which is the last thing she needed right now. She was too damn young to be having back pain.

Oh, right, I jumped out of a high storey building with a helicopter, a supersoldier, and another supersoldier that's unfortunately still not cured of the mindfucking that HYDRA did almost a century ago. And now that she thought about it, her back's not the only thing aching now, her head was too.

Everything was a goddamn mess.

She got up from the filthy ground and inspected her surroundings. Judging from the stink and filth the place has, it has to be abandoned. It was more of a warehouse of some sort.

How the hell did she get here?

She stopped in her tracks when she heard voices. It was only then she noticed the dim light coming from another room. She felt her pockets and was displeased to find her pistols missing. 

Her fists would have to do for now.

She started moving towards the light, the voices getting much clearer and louder so she would be able to pick up on their conversation. 

"Who were they?" 

Her ears perked up at the sound of the voice. Steve.

"Their most elite death squad." Another one answered. Wait, was it... "More kills than anyone in HYDRA history, and that was before the serum."

Barnes?

"They all turn out like you?" 

Sam.

"Worse," Bucky chided.

Natasha kept her back pressed against the wall, waiting to see where this conversation was heading straight for. If these people were them, then she had probably missed a lot of things. How did they get Barnes to act normal again?

"The doctor... could he control them?" Steve asked.

Bucky sounded hesitant, "Enough."

"Said he wanted to see an empire fall," Steve remarked.

"With this guys, he could do it." Bucky pointed out, "They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night and you'd never see them coming."

Sam let out a sigh of defeat, walking a tad closer to Steve, "This would have been a lot easier a week ago." 

"If we call Tony—" 

"No, he won't believe us." Sam interrupted, "But perhaps Natasha would. Any chance you can talk to her about this?"

Guessing this was her cue to make her presence known, she stepped out of the darkness and into their view. 

"About what?" she asked. 

As expected, all eyes turned to her. Surprise was evident in their faces, especially on Barnes. Natasha only had a fleeting glance but she could clearly see his look of puzzlement. The strangeness yet familiarity of the scene striking him with such impact, that it provoked him to dig up more in the deeper parts of his memory.

Probably a little too deep.

He knew that face. He'd seen her somewhere before and he was sure of it. All he remember was them walking for days and nights, the familiar stench of moss and mud reaching his nose while his boots bathed in the muddy ground.

"So, what's going on between you and Anne?"

The blonde stopped short. "What?"

Bucky gave him the look.

Steve picked up on it quickly. "There's nothing going on between us. I don't even know where you get that nonsense." 

"Yeah, I ain't falling for that."

"Seriously, there really is nothing going on. I don't even know if we're considered friends or something because we hardly know each other outside of work. We just met recently."

Bucky didn't seem convinced. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Steve shot him a look. "Do you believe me now?"

"Fine." Bucky continued on, his lips curled into a devious smirk. "If that's the case, then you wouldn't mind me making a move, do you?"

That got him. "Wha—you mean like... ask her out? On a date?"

As if fate had perfect timing, she came up beside them. "Ask who out?"

Both boys turned to the direction of her voice, surprised at the fact they didn't even notice her walk in on them.

"H-How long were you standing there?" Steve asked, becoming all flustered.

"Long enough to know something." She answered vaguely, sauntering over until she was right in front of them, "So, what were you two talking about?"

Bucky dropped the bomb on her. "Do you like Steve?" 

If the expression, 'knocked off guard' was not applicable to anyone before, it ceratinly was to her now. Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

The bright green eyes that he would never get tired of looking at was the exact pair he was staring at right now.

Like a little switch was flicked on, Bucky's eyes finally lit up in recognition.

"Anne?"

Natasha felt her breath hitched up in her throat. And so did Steve's. It had been a while since they heard that name, and hearing it now had surfaced a lot of pleasant and unpleasant memories.

"Natasha, actually." she corrected, finally getting a grip of herself.

Bucky's eyebrows knitted together, "What? I..." He turned to Steve, who was still surprised as to what was happening. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Sam agreed.

"You are... were... Anne." Bucky repeated, trying to make sense of everything, "You look exactly like her."

Natasha then shared a look with Steve, neither knew what to do, and she was just waiting for him to do something, either they stop this or they go with it.

Steve sucked in a heavy breath. He was glad that Bucky was slowly returning to his old self, but he didn't know if he felt the same towards the fact that he had remembered Natasha clearly before. 

She really made a huge impact on his life for him to remember her so easily. 

And it was the biggest mistake she had made.

"Uh, Buck." Steve stepped up, "This is Natasha Romanoff. She's with us."

Sam clearly didn't knew what the fuck was going on but he knew enough to sense the tension between these three. He coughed under his breath, "She's with him."

Natasha gave him a glare, turning a little pink.

Steve awkwardly shifted, his face burning up.

And Bucky was still lost from it all.

Oh, God.

Sam had enough of this love triangle bizarreness, "Cap, a word with you?" He nodded at the door and ushered him out of the room. Once they were out of their sight, he got straight to the point. "Look, now you don't need to tell me everything but can you just explain what the hell just happened there?"

Steve placed a hand on his hip, "Sam, it is hard to explain."

"And why is your friend calling Natasha, Anne?"

"Because she is Anne." he deduced.

"What?"

Steve didn't know where to start. How on earth was he supposed to explain everything to Sam without making him think he's got his head upside down? "Okay, remember the time when there were reports about a really weird energy source coming from the tower?"

"Tower? What to—wait, the Avengers Tower?" Sam asked, confused.

Steve nodded, "Yes, and unlike what the news said, it wasn't just a simple prototype failure of Stark's."

Sam furrowed his brows. "Then what is it?"

The captain took a deep breath before started to tell Sam everything that he needed to know. To make the long story short, he only focused on the important parts of the story. A whip of nostalgia surged through him as he went through with it.

By the time he was done, Sam was at loss for words.

"Well, fuck."

Was all he said.

——————————————————————————————

While the two were out having their discussion, Natasha helped Bucky free his arm out. The two sat together in silence.

It was her turn to cut this awkward moment short. "You think you have a clue on what they're talking about?"

Bucky only shrugged.

Well, so much for getting rid of the awkwardness.

Though she could feel the tension radiating off him from the stiffness of his body. She asked the only suitable question, "You alright?"

Bucky laughed, though the sound of his laughter contracted his upturn of his lips. It sounded... tired. "What do you think?" he snapped.

Natasha wasn't the least affected of his bitchy mode, she only raised a brow. "Horrible, I suppose. Anyway, that's not something new here."

"I can see that." he agreed, "everything just keeps getting fucked up each time. And I thought the war was the worst."

She looked at him, pointing out, "There is still war."

Bucky looked straight back, "I know." His voice began to break, "because for the longest time I'm here they never once stopped, and I don't think they ever will."

It was a gamble to ask such a thing, but Natasha desperately hoped it would lead to something good. "How much do you remember?"

There was a pause. Then— "Not much." He opened his mouth, then closed it again, "So, you're not Anne, then?"

"I..." She went with it. There was no point in hiding anymore as it only seems to get worse each time they did it. "I am."

Bucky gave a questioning stare, "So who's Natasha?"

"I am." She tried to clear it up before it gets any more messed up, "James, it's really hard to explain."

The fact that her calling him James just proved that she was really the Anne he remembered. They were the same person. The only thing left to ask was... "But how?" he couldn't believe it.

"It may sound crazy."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "And you're already talking to one brainwashed freak. I think I can handle whatever you're going to say, trust me."

Natasha pondered for a second, sighed in defeat, "Okay, but don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Okay."

"It has something to do with time travel."

She was waiting for some absurd reaction from him but when she didn't get anything else, she was silently surprised. The idea seemed normal to him. "Okay?" he said, like he didn't get why she was suddenly quiet.

"And this guy named Tony Stark—do you know him?"

Bucky stiffened, muttered, "Kind of."

"He's the moron with the goatee." She elaborated, going on, "So last 2015 he built a time machine and claimed that he built it on the purpose of helping mankind, though I think it will be, it completely backfired."

"What happened?" 

"Then Thor, he's one of us, I mean like we're in a group—"

"The Avengers." 

Natasha looked at him in shock.

"I read the newspapers." He explained with a short smile, "But I don't know any Thor yet."

Her lips curved upwards. "He's a God."

"Nice."

"Stark had actually used one of Thor's infinity stones to power up his time machine so he got mad and things went downhill from there. Long story short, I got dragged into the mess and I was accidentally sent back to the past. Boom." She finished, gesturing towards her, "Anne Klein was born."

Bucky tried to make sense of it. "But why that date? Why the 40's?"

"Stark preset it. He said he wanted to take a look at the serum they made Steve be—that." She pointed at the direction where the captain was.

"Oh," Were the only words that came out of his mouth. "I guess that makes sense."

"You don't think it's crazy?"

He shook his head. "Nah. To be honest, I doubt anything would surprise me at this point."

"I guess that makes sense." she repeated his words. "So, is that all you remember about me from the past? From Anne Klein?"

She was nervous on what his answer might be.

"I remember some dancing. Some laughing. Some fighting." From the corner of her eye, she could see a subtle smirk appearing on his face. "Me playing matchmaker for these two particular persons."

Natasha lightly turned red, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Alright, shut up."

"I think that's about it." The smirk died down quickly, "Am I supposed to remember something else?"

Her heart beat began to beat at a quicker pace. Should she tell him? No more hiding anymore, remember? But what about Steve? He deserves to know it first more than anyone else. You can't do this to him, Nat.

"No." She kept her voice firm to convince him, "I think that's all."

After that, silence dawned on them. No words were exchanged as they both needed what they all need to know. They simply waited for Steve and Sam to finish their discussion. 

Finally, Steve appeared in sight. His blue eyes flickering between both her and Bucky. 

Natasha quickly stood up and asked, "So, what's the game plan?"

——————————————————————————————

Later on, Steve decided that they should all stay in for the night here and leave at dawn. Natasha was still hesitant on leaving them, though.

"Why can't I come with you?" she asked.

Steve sighed, he felt like it was the nth time he was repeating things to her over again. "Nat, you signed the paper. You need to go back. The second you come with us you're going to be a wanted man too. They're going to hunt you down."

She scoffed, "As if that's not happening already."

"Nat, please, just listen." Steve tried to tell her, "This isn't your fight."

"But I'm trying to help you!"

"And you are! You are helping if you just listen to me!" His voice raised a little decibel too high, and he wasn't sure if it was out of frustration or desperation. Probably, both. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Natasha stopped, shook his head as if he said the most stupidest thing ever. "You're being ridiculous, Steve. You and your morals."

He sighed, calming down, "I'm sorry, but it's who I am."

She knew that. She could never take that away from him. No one could. She couldn't do anything but sigh, because whether she liked it or not, he was right. They all made made their own choices and this was hers, to side with Tony, and she needed to stick with the consequences no matter how hard it was.

She looked up at him. Both of them stunk, both were covered in grime and dirt, but through the darkness, the tears welling up in their eyes shone like knives through their heart. 

"Please be safe." she begged.

"Please be safe." he pleaded.

Natasha didn't waste a second to step forward and jump into his arms. She felt his hands wrapped tightly around his back and pulled her closer. She felt something wet from her cheek, and she didn't know anymore whose tears did it belong to.

Tomorrow, she was leaving him.

Tomorrow, he was leaving her.

And neither was sure if everything was going to be the same again after tomorrow.

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So, yeah, does anyone sense a Bucky-Nat-Steve love triangle happening in the near future? I don't know about this but let me hear your opinions.

I'm clearly losing inspiration to write updates ever since my SteveNat heart got shattered after Endgame :( I'm sorry huhu I'm really trying my best to make it worth your time to read, still!

Feel free to leave any comments or messages, I'll gladly respond to your requests :)

Don't forget to leave a vote! Thanks guys, luv u all so much! I really appreciate you bugging me about updates, it makes me feel wanted... and needed xD